Christmas vs Xmas

It's hard to believe that this year will be over with in 8 days, not to mention the fact that it is going to be Christmas in 2. Speaking of Christmas, I was curious as to the origins of people using "X-mas" instead of Christmas. Being the ignorant person I was, I automatically assumed (making an ass of myself) that people were indicating that Christ didn't belong at the beginning of the word, hence "X-mas". Well, to my surprise, it is actually a legitimate way to abbreviate Christmas. According to Santa's Net - Christmas Facts, here is why it is used:

The common abbreviation for Christmas to Xmas is derived from the Greek alphabet. X is letter Chi, which is the first letter of Christ's name in the Greek alphabet.

Something else of note is that the letter "X" is a logogram in the English language that could stand for 'cross' or 'Christ'. To facilitate reading and indicate what is meant the logogram is written with a phonetic complement -ing or -mas:

Here's another little interesting tidbit of information:

Many Christmas customs are carryovers from pre-Christian celebrations. Hanging gifts on trees is supposed to stem from tree worship of the Druids, and the belief that the tree was the giver of all good things. The Druids are also partly responsible for the use of mistletoe at Christmastime. They regarded the mistletoe as sacred, made certain that it never touched the ground, and dedicated it to the Goddess of Love, which explains the kissing that goes on under it. Originally, when a boy kissed a girl, he plucked a berry from the cluster and presented it to her. When the berries were gone, so were the kisses.

If you're wondering why men may have not flocked to kiss you under the mistletoe, the answer may be that it was said that it will only work if the person you are kissing is a virgin. On the sixth day of the new moon, a Druid priest used to cut mistletoe from an oak tree with a sacred sickle. A passing virgin was called upon to catch the falling plant, which was not allowed to touch the ground.

There are lots of interesting little tidbits on that page, so go check them out and learn some stuff about this holiday that you probably didn't already know. ;)